It’s great to be asked for an interview. You’re well on the way to your dream job now and you can walk into the room with the confidence that you’ve made it over a significant hurdle already.

However you cannot afford to be complacent. You should always prepare carefully for each interview and the highest priority is research.

Start on the front foot.

Employers enjoy providing key information about their own companies. So make sure you can contribute to the conversation in an informed manner, and show you’re interested.

Find out absolutely everything you can about the company through its website, social media, advertising, financial reports or other online research. Look at its competitors too and try to get a good feel for the business environment it operates in.

If you know anyone who works or has worked there, ask them about the culture, what they liked and disliked, and any other areas that could give you valuable insights into how to ask and respond to questions.

Think about the role

Read and re-read the job description to be completely familiar with the skills and experiences sought. Work through it methodically, rehearsing answers to questions about why you think you’re right for the role.

In particular, have examples ready in your mind, of how your achievements in the past match the responsibilities demanded of the job.

Prepare your questions

Employers love intelligent and relevant questions (but they hate basic ones that could have been answered through a quick online search). Here are some of the better ones you could ask:

Why has the vacancy arisen? What are the key objectives of the role and how will success be measured? Who will you report to and what’s the management structure? What opportunities could the role lead to in the medium and long term? How will loyalty and hard work be identified and rewarded? What’s the company culture like and what sort of person fits in well?

But remember, responding well to an answer and building the next question around it comes over much better than simply running through a pre-prepared list.

You should also be prepared to answer the most commonly asked interview questions, such as:

What were your duties and responsibilities in your last role? What major challenges did you face? What was your biggest accomplishment? Why are you leaving your job? What are your strengths and weaknesses?

It is a good time to know your career history thoroughly; thinking of specifics to ensure you dont leave the client guessing on what you are capable of.

Dress appropriately

First impressions are incredibly important. So dress in a neat, tidy and clean way that’s appropriate for the role you’re applying for. If you’re ever unsure, it’s better to be conservative and over-dressed than too casual.

Make sure you know where you’re going!

Unless you’ve been asked otherwise, you should aim to arrive around ten minutes before your appointment time. We know this is a basic one, but it can really make all the difference. We see it here in our offices, the difference between candidates who are stressed out as they are running late, didn’t know where to park etc and the ones who arrive on time and stress free. Be sure to know EXACTLY where you are going and where to park and allow yourself extra time. You certainly want to be calm and punctual for that all important 1st impression with a potential employer!